Article excerpt

It's no secret that many women feel too rushed to enjoy shopping, but that doesn't always stop them from being persistent in their efforts to find the right items at the best price. Although nearly four in 10 women (37%) say they don't have time to shop for clothing, 61% say that when they are making clothing purchases, they visit several different stores before deciding on what to buy, according to the Cotton Inc. Lifestyle Monitor.

Department stores are the top choice for women buying clothes, followed closely by chains.

Almost two thirds (64%) of working women say their office has a casual dress policy, and most of these take advantage of the opportunity to dress casually at work. Older women are more likely than younger women to wear business attire on casual days.

Most women appreciate apparel that can adapt to a variety of occasions; 62% of women age 25-34 would prefer to wear a single comfortable outfit for several different activities over having to change clothes to suit each event. Women's preference for multipurpose garments is increasing; the percentage of women preferring to wear a single outfit over event-specific items increased almost 10 percentage points from 1st-quarter 2000 (53%) to 1st-quarter 2001 (62%). …

Are You Confident about Sentiment? Sentiment Surveys and Retail Sales Reports Are Only Important If They Have Real World Effects on the Financial Markets. Here, We Dig into the Data to Find OutSimons, Howard L..
Futures (Cedar Falls, IA), Vol. 34, No. 10, August 2005